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Scrantom's was one of Rochester's oldest businesses and the place to go for office supplies, gifts, books and stationery for more than a century.

At its peak, Scrantom's operated 11 stores in the area and ran a wholesale-supply business throughout New York and parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and other states. The end came in the early 1990s. Scrantom's Book and Stationery Co. — which opened its first store in downtown Rochester just a few years after the Civil War — declared bankruptcy and closed up shop.

The demise was blamed in part on a recent flood of big-box competitors, as described by Cliff Smith in a Times Union story from August 1992.

"They came and they came and they came — seemingly without end — in 1990, 1991 and into this year," Smith wrote. "They were the superstores with names such as Office Max, Staples, Paper Cutter, Office Warehouse and Borders Book Shop … the chain (Scrantom's) that has specialized in the sale of books, stationery and office supplies since 1868 finally conceded enough was enough."

Other factors contributed to Scrantom's downfall, including the company's seemingly delayed willingness to adapt to a changing market. Scrantom's had a reputation for years as an upscale, quality store, perhaps a bit staid and conservative. Company president Evan Brauer worked to adjust that image, as he described in a 1983 Democrat and Chronicle story.

"The problem is how to market one of Rochester's oldest companies," said the then-26-year-old Brauer, whose father, Herbert, ran the business for decades. "We're trying to get the point across that we're not an old company — we're constantly changing."

That meant updating stores, increasing the company's advertising budget and selling "contemporary" items, like home-computer accessories (but never computers). Nonetheless, Scrantom's was nearing the end of its remarkable run as one of Rochester's top retailers.

Henry Scrantom and Lansing Wetmore founded the company in 1868 with a store at 10 State St. The business originally carried both men's names. The store moved around downtown before landing in the Powers Building at Main and State streets in 1889. A second store, which proved to be Scrantom's longest-lasting, opened at 334 E. Main St. in 1924.

Advertisements from that era conveyed Scrantom's business style and expansive product line. Witness this pre-Christmas ad that ran in the Democrat and Chronicle in November 1927.

"No need to go the Metropolis for playthings," the ad stated. "The year-around toy shops have every game and toy of worth a search of the exclusive toy shops of the largest cities would reveal … A gift from Scrantom's is doubly appreciated — quality and design are assured, and there is the knowledge that the gift was selected from unexcelled assortments."

The advertisement listed products such as diaries and desk lamps, leather goods and books, "Cine Kodaks" and monogrammed stationery, golf equipment and toboggans.

Scrantom's closed its Powers Building store in 1939. The enormous East Main Street shop reigned as the company's lone location until a suburban building blitz in the 1950s, starting with a Northgate Plaza branch in Greece that opened in 1953.

Culver-Ridge Plaza in Irondequoit and Ridgemont Plaza in Greece were next. A Midtown Plaza branch, which went on to become the company's "crown jewel," debuted with Midtown's opening in 1962.

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The Scrantom’s store at 334 E. Main is seen in this 1987 photo. It closed in early 1988; management said the construction involved in a Main Street redevelopment project caused many disruptions.(Photo: File photo 1987)

Scrantom's continued expanding throughout the next few decades. Its longtime store at 334 E. Main finally closed in early 1988, blamed in part by construction hassles from a Main Street redevelopment project.

Within five years, though, all the other Scrantom's stores also closed. Another chapter in Rochester's glorious retail history had ended.

"Whatever Happened To? ..." is a feature that explores favorite haunts of the past and revisits the headlines of yesteryear. It's a partnership between RocRoots.com and "Join if you're from Rochester New York" on Facebook.

Have an idea you'd like us to explore? Email us at roc-roots@DemocratandChronicle.com.